Robotic Parking Systems Prevents Crashes With Uptime Assurance From Stratus

MAYNARD, MA--(Marketwire - May 24, 2011) - Instead of driving up and down parking garage ramps in search of an open space, how about driving into a street-level "terminal" and letting an automated valet system do the parking for you? Robotic Parking Systems makes this possible in cities around the world today, relying on the unmatched uptime assurance of Stratus Technologies to keep the car park humming with uninterrupted precision night and day.

Taking up only half the space of a traditional car park, a Robotic Parking Systems garage is a ballet of automation and IT orchestration. Sophisticated software controls the platforms, lifts, motors, sensors, and other mechanical gear that transport vehicles to an open slot in a multi-story steel shelving system. Different size bays accommodate sedans and SUVs, improving space utilization. Retrieving a car takes under three minutes and each entry/exit gate can handle 30 cars per hour on average. Its largest facility yet -- a 1,200-car garage -- is under construction in Dubai, UAE.

The entire system is engineered with extreme redundancy to guarantee uninterrupted operation, with as many as four back-ups per system component. Duplicate mechanical components and systems ensure that if one machine requires maintenance or repair, a back-up is already operating to keep cars moving in and out of the garage. The same philosophy applies to IT with two complete systems including redundant Stratus ftServer servers, programmable logic controls, and network cabling ensuring a worst case scenario -- cars can't be retrieved because of a system failure -- doesn't happen. Backing all that up is an emergency power generator with automatic transfer switch that kicks in if there's a power outage.

"True redundancy translates into a greater level of reliability and ensures uninterrupted operations," said Robotic Parking Systems CEO Royce Monteverdi. "No single failure will ever result in the system being inoperable. Uptime of the system is unprecedented."

Like the garage's mechanical elements, Stratus ftServer systems are built to prevent failures. Each of the two servers in a garage is fully redundant with components operating in parallel within a single enclosure. In addition, Stratus ftServer systems have two features no other server offering in the world has: an automated uptime software layer and proactive availability management and monitoring.

The automated uptime layer constantly monitors over 500 server components and sensors, and manages system resources to protect against downtime and data loss. If a problem is detected, the offending component is automatically isolated from the application and other system resources. And everything a service technician can do onsite, Stratus proactive availability management does remotely. The technology layer captures the root cause of problem and reports the information to uptime experts monitoring deployed systems 24/7. They remotely access the system, make the fix and avoid a repeat. All the while applications continue to run, and business continues to operate, with no intervention from IT.

About Stratus Technologies

Stratus delivers uptime assurance for the applications its customers depend on most for their success. Using resilient software and hardware technologies combined with proactive availability management services, Stratus products help to save lives and to protect the business and reputations of companies, institutions, and governments the world over. To learn more about worry-free computing, visit www.stratus.com.

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